Set on Stone
by MyLovelyWriter
Summary: Two cousins were saved by a mysterious stranger during the attack on Shinganshina five years before. They now stand as soldiers, raised and trained to be one of the best. They knew that their fate was set on stone-and it was to fight titans for the sake of humanity's freedom. Despite this, falling in love won't hurt, will it? They're still humans after all. LevixOC & ErenxOC
1. Chapter 1

**I'm actually writing this with a friend, so enjoy it as much as you can! Thank you for giving it a chance! I assure you that you won't regret it! :D**

**(CHAPTER START!)**

**Prologue**

"Rachel-nee! Where are we going?!" Asked the younger girl in the midst of all the panic.

"Hold on, Allen! We're almost there!" Replied the older one, keeping her firm grip around Allen's smaller hands secured and tight. "No matter what, don't let go of my hand!"

Rachel fought back the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes, blinking them hastily while looking ahead. Allen was openly sobbing, fearfully eyeing the exploding rubbles where Titans bashed the buildings of different homes.

The deafening screams of panicking people, the echoes of their pleas for help before being devoured would forever be printed into their memory.

Indescribable terror rushed through their veins. The pounding hearts inside their chests reverberated even in their ears. The rush of adrenalin in their blood was the only thing fueling their very beings for survival.

The matter of survival. How foreign it felt.

The ground shook at the gigantic footsteps that gradually came their way. Rachel froze at the feeling, every hair in her body standing. Fear racked her straight to the bones and the trembling in her knees worsened that she almost fell over.

Still, she tightened her grip around Allen's, determined to keep the both of them safe.

"N-nee-san." Allen gulped, eyeing the Titan who had droopy eyes, excessively large nose and disgusting pouting lips. It was a twelve-meter class with a fat belly.

It eyed them with a predatory glint.

Rachel wasted no time and took off running as it started to reach out to the both of them. Unfortunately, Allen stumbled and twisted her ankle. The once beautiful Sunday Dress she wore was now covered in grime and she fell on her knees, panting with tears running freely down her eyes.

Rachel hated the false sense of security the walls offered.

"Allen!"

"N-nee-san . . ." She sobbed. "I-I don't think I can . . . continue."

"Are you shitting me?" She growled, tugging on her hand. "Stand up!"

"B-but . . . my feet." Allen replied.

Clenching her teeth together, Rachel lifted Allen off of her feet and hauled her behind her back. "Hold on tight and don't let go, you hear me? We're going to get out of here together."

With that, she ran with all she could, the Titan still on their tail.

Everything was in total chaos. People were getting eaten here and there. Splatters of blood decorated the walls and corpses of half-eaten people were scattered everywhere.

"G-get out of my way!" A man screamed, pushing his way past the two girls to run for his life.

Rachel lost her footing and stumbled. She and Allen fell on the rough pavement with a small thump. Hitting her knees, the girl grimaced as her skin broke and blood appeared.

Still, there was no time to lay still. Titans were everywhere and they could be the next victim.

"Allen!" She exclaimed, looking hastily around to where the other girl landed.

That titan was still hot on their tale.

"I-I'm alright, nee-san." Allen weakly replied, her eyes ridden with fear. "Y-you should go."

"The hell are you talking about?" She said. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"B-but," She sniffled.

"No buts! Come on!" She grabbed Allen and prepared to pull her over when a voice so ever familiar called out to them.

"Rachel! Allen!"

Rachel looked up, relief washing over her. Allen, as well, perked up at the sound of her uncle.

"Dad!"

"Get away from them!" He yelled to the Titan while charging, a machete in hand. "Run, Chel!" He exclaimed, running past them. "Get them out of here, Brenna!" He told his wife.

Rachel's mother suddenly appeared and nudged both girls to their feet. When Allen couldn't stand, she gathered the girl into her arms. The girl had a small frame for someone her age, so Brenna had no difficulty carrying her at all.

Her father swung his weapon at the Titan after Rachel and Allen, cutting of its fingers in which steam evaporated. It looked down on him with its droppy eyes.

"But . . . dad!" She exclaimed.

"I'll catch up with you!" He then turned to them, tears brimming. "I promise."

He was lying. That look in his eyes said it all.

"Dad!"

"That's not a request, Rachel! Go! Now!"

"Come on, sweetheart." Brenna tried to make her voice sound as calm as possible, but the fear in it seeped through despite her effort. She began to drag an unwilling Rachel away.

"No! Dad!"

"Rachel!" Her mother snapped, tears in her eyes. "Let's go." She said firmly.

"B-but . . ."

"No buts. Don't make this any harder now." Pain laced her voice.

"I-I . . ."

"Let's go. And don't ever look back. No matter what you hear, alright?"

They then started running away. Rachel closed her eyes as tears trickled down her cheeks, her grip around her mother's warm hand tightening.

It hurt to leave someone you love behind. How the pain ate away at her heart.

Allen sobbed, her arms wrapped firmly around her aunt's neck. "Auntie? Where are mama and papa?"

"T-they're . . ." She hesitantly answered. "Somewhere safe now."

"Really?" She asked. "I'm glad. Can I see them again?"

"Not anytime soon, dear. Not anytime soon."

Brenna was about make a turn to an alleyway which Rachel assumed as a shortcut, but when she saw a Titan feeding on a trapped man by the wall, she hastily went against that decision and ran straight ahead instead.

"Ahhhhh!" A woman's shrilly scream rang. "No!"

There was a chorus of thuds that once again shook the Earth. An aberrant came crashing through the wall by their right, rubbles exploding upon impact. Brenna instinctively shielded the children with her body and Allen screamed at the suddenness. The girl covered her ears while a large piece of wood came flying towards Brenna, embedding itself into her flesh.

Blood spurted through her mouth and trickled down her chin before she staggered and eventually fell on her knees.

Rachel's eyes widened as she watched her mother fall, and Allen herself could not hold back the sobs that racked through her throat even worse than before.

"Go now, Rachel. Take Allen with you to a safe place. Promise me you'll survive, alright?" She said, gripping her daughter's hand firmly.

Rachel froze at the feeling of the warmth speedily leaving her mother's hands. "Mom!"

She gave Allen to Rachel, urging the two of them to start running while the aberrant came crawling through the wall it broke through.

"Go now, Rachel!" Her mother commanded.

Reluctantly, Rachel hauled Allen into her back and stumbled away. She threw a look over her shoulder to see her own mother confronting the titan and using herself as a distraction for them to get away.

Rachel gritted her teeth, letting herself shed a few tears at the willingness of her mother to sacrifice herself.

_'I'll survive, mom. I promise. Me and Allen.'_

"Auntie . . ." Allen cried.

Once a bit far away from the scene, another titan set its eyes on the two girls and slowly reached for its prey. Allen made a panicked scream as Rachel hurriedly made a sharp turn to an alleyway that was tight enough not the let the titan in.

Although it offered temporary sanctuary, the two of them were horrified when they came to a dead end.

"R-Rachel," Allen whimpered. "The titan." She said.

Rachel looked and saw the fact that the titan was trying its hardest to reach for them, its large, ugly hands wiggling through the narrow space they were currently taking refuge in.

"What are we going to do now?" Allen asked her.

"Don't worry. I'll do something." She said, feeling disbelief at the words that escaped her mouth. "I won't let mom and dad's sacrifice to be useless."

She could feel herself sweating heavily from all the running she had done. The wetness caused her glossy black hair to be matted against the sides of her face. Her eyes reflected the desperation for survival and the trauma of just having lost her parents.

She set her cousin against the wall.

Allen's eyes reflected the same colors as hers, now full of panic and fear of what was going to happen next. Her ankle, as well, had swollen over the past few minutes, no doubt causing the girl pain. It was an ugly color of black and blue.

"Is your ankle okay?"

"It stings when I move it . . ." She said, hissing at the slightest attempt of movement.

Rachel ripped off the bottom of her shirt, causing a bit of her skin to show. She wrapped the cloth around Allen's ankle as a substitute for bandages and hoped it did a bit of help.

"I don't know if that did any good but that's the best I can do for now."

"Thank you very much, nee-san." She sniffled. "I'll try not to cry anymore. I'll be strong, I promise."

"Don't worry. You're already very strong as you are."

She looked around the alley. Running away was no longer an option at this point unless she could do something.

**_ When a rat gets cornered it will bare its teeth._**

A sharp glint caught her eye. She caught sight of a pipe attached against the wall.

**_ When a deer in a wild gets driven into a wall, it'll attack with all its might._**

With all the strength she could muster, she took the pipe and broke it off with a sharp clang. She caught Allen eyeing her inquiringly before she caught on with her plans.

"You're planning on attacking it, Rachel-nee?" She asked in horror.

"We have no choice. It's this or we both die."

"But you can't!" She yelled. "I don't want you to end up like auntie and uncle!"

She helped Allen to her feet. "Can you try going from here and get some help while I distract it?" She asked.

Allen's eyes glinted. This was her chance to help.

"I . . ." Allen leaned against the wall to support her twisted ankle and inability to support her whole weight. "I'll do my best! I promise!"

"Use this." She broke off another piece of the pipe which had a curved path. It was long enough for her to use as a substitute of a cane.

Allen leaned on it. "I promise I'll come back!"

"Just shut up and go." She told her. "And make sure you don't get eaten."

"I-I will!"

"In a count of three!" She said. "One . . . three!"

"Where's the two!?" Allen asked, panicked. She reluctantly started walking off as Rachel charged at the titan head on.

"Eaten by a titan!" She screamed.

She would've laughed if the situation wasn't dire. Still, despite the fear that racked her being, she ran forward head on with Allen right on her heels. Although the girl couldn't go that fast, she did the best she could despite the dull pain she felt.

Rachel stopped just before the reaching hands and plunged the pipe into the thumb. She then jumped on the injured limb, pulling out her makeshift weapon with a burst of steam.

Using the hand as a bridge, she ran forward and plunged the pipe into the eye of the titan next. The horrid creature stumbled back mutely, opening the alleyway it once blocked.

"Now, Allen!"

Allen started to make her escape, the pipe making sharp noises against the pavement. The titan saw her and attempted to grab the girl, but Rachel saw its attempt and stopped it before it could.

"No, you don't! You monster!" She yelled, piercing its other eye as well.

_'Their weakness is in the nape of their necks.'_

She didn't know how to exactly kill a titan, but to hell with it! She yanked on a strand of the hair of the titan she attacked and swung herself towards its back. She stood on its shoulder as it took the time to recover and started to strike its nape with all she could, continuously plunging the pipe into its unnervingly soft flesh.

The heat of the steam washed about her and warm blood sprayed on her face. She must've looked mad from the expression she had on and her current appearance, but she cared nothing about that.

All she wanted was to survive. For Allen to survive.

She didn't know how long she was doing that. The feeling of adrenalin fueled her seemingly endless assault on the nape of the titan and before she knew it, she already managed to create a big hole on its weak point. After a while, it stopped regenerating.

She must've killed it.

With only a pipe.

It was hard, considering that the titan had fast regenerating abilities—but she dug like she was frantically shoveling plain soil for her life and not flesh that felt disturbingly vulnerable. Blood had spurted and sprayed on her clothes and her face.

Hell. It was crazy but it worked.

The titan fell and dropped dead on the floor. The steam rose from its corpse and the weariness suddenly took toll in her young body. Rachel stumbled off of the carcass and saw Allen standing before her, looking awed by the scene she just witnessed.

There was a lady behind her, dressed in what seemed to be the uniform of a soldier. She had blue eyes like the color of the skies, and hair the color of the sun. She wore a look of amazement with a mixture of disbelief.

How long was she doing that? She glanced briefly at the dead titan and moved wearily towards her cousin.

No matter how long, it gave Allen the chance to ask for help. That was enough.

"Your friend here said you needed help." She said. "But did you need it, really?" She asked.

Panting, she looked up. "I still do."

She blinked. "You aren't supposed to kill a titan with just a pipe, you know. We have the right tools for that." She said.

"Are you here to help us out or not, lady?"

"Yeah, maybe." She scratched her head. "Haha. Just kidding. Come on, you kiddos!" The strange lady said before grabbing the two around the waist and tucking the both of them over her shoulder.

She jumped off with her 3DMG, the grappling hooks shooting off. The sharp hissing rang faintly in the ears of the two and not long after, they were flying.

"Say, are you two interested in joining the military?"

"Huh?"

"I'm interested in taking the two of you in." She grinned. "Unless you have your parents worrying for you, or are you alone?"

"I think they died." Rachel answered while Allen simply hung her head.

"Oh, well . . ." She sighed, shooting off yet another hook and maintaining a good pace. "The military is a place for kids like you! How about the Special Operations Regiment? How about it, huh?" She urged on.

"Shut up." Rachel muttered tiredly. "There's no such thing as a Special Operations Regiment. There's only the Military Police, Garrison, and the Scouting Legion. If I have to choose, I'll go with the Military Police." She muttered.

"That's what you think." She laughed.

"You're not exactly the image of a savior, are you?"

"Well, you'll be relying on me now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

Rachel stirred in her sleep, awoken by the swishing of curtains within the room. Sunlight spilled through the glass and pierced her groggy eyes blindingly, reminding the woman that another day had started.

With a sigh, she yawned and tears filled her eyes. She rubbed them absentmindedly and looked around the office she now called her bedroom.

Apparently, she had fallen asleep on her desk in the midst of all the paperwork piled up on her table. Rachel grimaced at the dried up trace of drool in one of the important files she was supposed to be working on and noted to herself she shouldn't do it again.

"Good morning!" An enthusiastic voice chirped.

She lazily dragged her gaze towards the intruder and caught sight of her normally energetic cousin. "Morning." She replied, feeling tired. She stayed up late last night, that's why.

She glanced beside her and saw a tray of breakfast waiting by her side. There was a glass of fresh milk, a plate of sugar-coated pancakes and bacon, and a whole orange with a carved smile.

A small smile itself pulled the corners of her lips as she rested her chin on her propped elbow. Allen truly had a way of cheering her up with the smallest things. She had that talent of lighting up the whole room and giving hope when there was none. Even if most of the time she thinks of herself as a liability to the group, she was actually a very useful asset in achieving victory.

"It's a good thing you're here." She said, putting away the important documents on her desk to make space for the breakfast she was given. "Take a seat."

Allen cheerfully sat on one of the seats facing her desk and looked at Rachel. "What is it? Anything you need done?"

"I think you remember Commander Erwin's visit the last two days." Rachel cut a piece of the pancake before piercing it with her fork and shoving it into her mouth.

She nodded. "Yeah. From the Recon Corps."

"Well, Yvette's currently off doing business with the Military Police and Chaves is still locked up within the technical room doing who-knows-what." She sighed. "I hate to do this, but I'm assigning you to come with the Recon Corps and help them in their next expedition."

"M-me? For the next expedition?"

"Commander Erwin is asking me to lend some of my men since he's short in help." Rachel sighed again. "I told him I'll see what I can do, but I can't really refuse since it's our duty in the first place. If you don't want to, I can turn down his request—"

"N-no!" Allen exclaimed. "I can do it, I promise!"

_Same words back then._ She thought with a faint smile. _You never really disappoint me._

"Listen, these expeditions are dangerous and most of them almost never returns alive. I'm entrusting you with this because I saw what you can do and that you've been trying really hard." She said. "But I won't hide the fact that I'm against you going."

"But . . . um . . . you're coming, right?" She innocently asked.

"No. So I won't be there to protect you." She told her, staring into her fearful eyes. "Are you still willing to do it?" Rachel laced her hands together worriedly on her lap as she leaned back.

She saw her hesitate for a moment. "Look, Allen—"

She cut her off. "I'll prove to you that I can do it!" She bounced from her seat and saluted.

Rachel gave her a nod with slight reluctance, taken aback by her outburst. "You can ask Vincent for the information."

Instead of leaving, she asked, "What'll you be doing during that time?"

"You forgot that tonight will be the graduation ceremony." She told her. "To prevent the Garrison from getting most of the recruits, I need to work to get the people we handpicked on our side. I can't simultaneously plan with the Recon Corps and handle a bunch of trainees at the same time, you know."

"Right." She sighed. "I guess I forgot. Thank you, Commander." She saluted again and Rachel returned it with a brief nod.

As she turned to leave, Rachel momentarily stopped her with her words. "Make sure not to die. Keep the promise."

Her eyes widened before she turned to look at her cousin with a sad smile. "I will. Nee-san."

"And, Allen," She added. "I want, as much as possible, for all of you to come back safe, unharmed, and in one piece."

As the woman watched her take her leave, she continued eating her breakfast and sank deeper into get thoughts.

Over the past years, only three of the military branches were made known to the public—mainly the Military Police, the Garrison, and the Scouting Legion. There is one more, though. A branch she just came to know about five years ago when the titans invaded Wall Maria.

The Secret Operations Regiment, or the Shadow Organization Regiment—shortly known as SOR. Having been saved by its eccentric commander a few years back, Allen and Rachel were taken in by the military because they were deemed as potential weapons in humanity's fight for freedom.

The SOR was mainly kept as a secret because it did most of the dirty work for the government, but aside from that, their main tasks were to discover the long lost technologies from the past civilization before the titans appeared, and to assist the other military branches to whatever help they need with.

The job wasn't easy at all.

As cruel as it might be, working in the shadows earned them little credit and that did a lot in the moral of the working men. They often get pushed around by the other branches because of their job, especially the Military Police.

Yet, despite all of that, she knew that everyone enjoyed what they do. Not only did they get to share the responsibilities of each and every branches, they get to experience what it felt like to be one of the Garrison, the Military Police, or the Scouting Legion.

The most exciting part of all was that the SOR got to cooperate with developing new technologies that could be used by the military and that means rediscovering the old methods used by their ancestors.

They normally didn't do anything much but they lend their help when needed.

The redhead exited the commander's room with a faint smile and breathed heavily.

_She's so busy I can't even spend my time with her as a family._ She thought.

She did her usual thing putting on a cheerful and overly optimistic smile before she proceeded to find her senior as instructed. She walked around the quiet halls of their HQ, each step echoing through the walls. She found herself walking out of a certain door that led to another hall and saw the fact that her senior was apparently talking to himself—or that was what it looked like.

_He probably drank too much sake._ She thought and giggled.

"Vincent-San!" She skipped happily towards him until she noticed someone with him giving her a questioning stare.

She stopped in shock and stared back at the stranger who was nestled on one of the couches in the lounge area. He wore a different uniform, signifying the fact that he didn't belong in the same group as her—the evergreen cloak . . . probably from the scouting legion.

The thought of humiliating herself in front of someone else not from her branch caused her to feel inwardly embarrassed and guilty. She repositioned herself, pretending to dust her uniform and cleared her throat.

"Vincent-heichou," She started formally with a serious face, hoping to cover for her earlier mistake.

"Allen, what brings you here?" The elder asked with a bright smile.

"Rachel-nee . . . I mean, the commander told me to come straight to you about the Recon Corps's Expedition." She said, looking back and forth her co-captain and the man he was talking to.

"Ah, yes. About that . . . but first, I would like you to meet Levi." Vincent presented him to the girl who was intently staring right at the latter.

"Nice to meet—"

"I have no time for introductions. Where's your commander?" He asked rather rudely.

She tried to stop her face from twitching angrily. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Where is she?" He repeated.

"I'm sorry, but commander's busy with _a lot _of important things." She said, her brows furrowing at the man before her.

_Who does he think he is? _She growled inwardly.

"Tch." He grunted in disappointment, leaning back on his seat with a permanent frown. "I came here to meet your shitty brat for a commander. Not some brat." He said, hastily eyeing her up and down.

She was taken aback by the man's harsh words but she tried not to make a fit in her sudden feeling of rage. She bit back her tongue. "Rachel-nee—I mean, Commander Rachel is _not _a brat. And I'm not just _some brat _either!"

Vincent cleared his throat. "This is the Recon Corps's Second-In-Command. He's here to talk about the matter in Commander Smith's stead. And this is Allen Strivelyn, our Captain." Vincent tried to break the tension between the two by introducing them to each other which hardly helped. The younger girl took in a deep breath getting rid of all the negative energy and returned the cold captain a wide smile.

"It's an _honor_ to work with you." She simply said with gritted teeth while giving him a salute as per the customs of being a soldier.

"Tch. A captain, you say?" The Second-In-Command stared at her coldly. He then stood up.

Allen cocked a brow at this. He had a surprisingly _short _height.

He turned his back against her, his feet leading to somewhere he didn't know. "Captain brat." He murmured.

She gasped. "How dare—"

Vincent spoke before she could finish. "Anyways, Allen, we'll talk about the other things later. Just catch up on us in my office. Get back to the commander and tell her she needs to talk with Levi. Now go." Vincent instructed the younger captain and she headed off back to her commander's office with slight hesitance after a salute.

"Nee-san? Can I come in?" She knocked.

"Come in." Allen opened the door to see her cousin reading some documents, furrowing her eyebrows at every word.

"What happened? Did you finish that fast?" The girl headed straight to her older sister's desk and started to clear up her breakfast tray, positioning them somewhere else.

"Well not really. I met the Recon's Second-In-Command. Live high something." The younger girl said while keeping a distance from her cousin's desk. In return, Rachel looked up from her paper and stared at Allen.

"Then what happened?" She looked back at the papers, seeming more interested in her paperwork than Allen's story.

"He's really . . . _harsh_." Allen responded putting a stress on the last word.

"Oh really?" Rachel continued.

"I returned the favor. He's just plain _rude. _Who does he think he is?" Allen said through gritted teeth.

"Mhm . . ." Rachel responded while reading the documents.

"Are you even listening?" She exclaimed at Rachel, stomping over to where she was and pulling the papers out of her hands.

"Yes I am . . ." She replied. "Now, can you give me back my work please?" Her cousin said with a deep sigh.

Realizing she went overboard, she placed the documents back on the table and looked apologetically at Rachel. "Yes . . . I understand. Sorry for interrupting you. I'll just go back to Vincent-san." The redhead murmured.

Rachel sighed again, looking at her troubled cousin with a guilty glance. "You are excused. Just take this type of conversation somewhere else where we're relaxing and doing nothing. I know you're getting frustrated about us not being able to talk that much anymore, but I swear to you that I'll listen to whatever you have to say when we're free alright?" With that, she flashed Allen a smile.

"I forgot to say . . . Vincent-san said that you need to talk to that rude guy from earlier." She said.

"Captain Levi, huh? From the Scouting Legion." She muttered. "I'll be there shorty—I mean, _shortly_. Where is he?"

"He's probably around somewhere. He left without saying anything a while ago. Do you know him, Rachel-nee?"

"I've seen him around. I don't think he knows me, though." She whispered. "You can go now. I'll look for him. He must be just around the corner."

The younger girl nodded stiffly and headed for the door. Just as she was going to open it though, it slammed open and the intimidating . . . _midget _came marching into the room with that poker-face of his.

"So this was where you were holed up in, _Commander._ I've been looking all over the place." He emphasized the last word before glancing towards Allen, who stood dumbfounded before him. "So you're here too, Captain Brat?"

Allen's brow made an animated twitch, glaring _down _at Levi. She was a good few inches taller than he was, or maybe a head taller. "Captain Midget." She seethed.

Levi's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

Rachel cleared her throat. "Don't you have somewhere you have to go to, Allen?"

Allen silently exited, her eyes not leaving Levi's as she left.

_"Brat."_

_"Midget."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

***Night of the Graduation Ceremony***

Under the darkness offered by the sunless skies, a shrilly voice rang throughout the whole place that it practically bounced off the bricked walls. It was the night of the graduation ceremony, and for the first time, the trainees felt glad to have a voice ringing into their ears without the fear of being scolded.

"Hands upon your hearts!"

"Yes, sir!"

The enthusiastic graduating trainees obeyed the command with swelling pride, fisting their hands and placing it against their chests with energetic 'thumps'. Now lined up uniformly, they faced their former instructor and a few other individuals who stood with intimidating poise.

"For you trainees graduating today, three paths now open before you." A blond haired man's voice boomed. "You can be stationed in the walls and defend the cities as members of the Garrison! You can put your lives on the line to fight the titans in their own territory with the Recon Corps! And you can serve the King by controlling the crowds and protecting order as members of the Military Police Brigade!"

Rachel stood by the very end of the line formed by the superiorly ranking solders, her face shadowed by a cloak and covered by a black cloth of concealment to properly hide her features. She could feel the heat being given off by the fire that burned in a tall torch by her side, and it made her sweat unnecessarily from the warmth. She gave an unseen smile, her eyes glinting within the darkness.

"Of course, only the ten people with top scores we announced earlier are allowed into the Military Police!" He continued.

At this queue, a few couldn't help but turn their gaze towards the magnificently saluting line of top contenders for this year's graduating bunch.

"This concludes our graduation ceremony," he continued. "However, remember this. If you receive an envelope of invitation, do not throw it away for it holds utmost importance. Do what its contents say for it may pave open new paths you can take." He said. "Is that understood?!" He yelled.

"Yes, sir!"

**(-(0)-)**

It wasn't the first time that Rachel saw Eren. She made a few visits to the training grounds and saw him in action a couple of times—but not that frequently. Still, this was the first time that she actually made contact with him.

It was during the celebrations after graduating that it happened. Eren had voiced out his thoughts like he did normally, never shying away from the questioning gazes of the other graduates. Why would he, a top scorer, want to join the Recon Corps when he could live the high life of being a member of the Military Police?

He had left the room and was briefly followed by Armin and Mikasa. Unknown to him, Rachel watched the whole scene occur and found her interest being pulled by a certain turquoise-eyed boy who probably received a 10/10 score of passion from Keith Shadis—which he did, actually.

After accidentally 'overhearing' his conversation with Armin and Mikasa, and their obvious plans to join the Scouting Legion, she decided that it was time to make her presence known.

He had not seen her face since it was hidden under a hood. Not to mention that she was also wearing a dark cloth that concealed the area around her nose and mouth. Yet, the only thing he was able to see was a pair of enigmatic brown eyes staring straight into his with a glint of mischievousness and amusement with unknown cause.

"You're pretty interesting kids." She told them, before tossing them three brown envelopes and disappearing just as fast as she came—like a brief brush of the wind that seemed to have left no trace of its presence, yet marked its arrival.

She had given him an invitation—just like she did towards Armin and Mikasa. It was a traditional custom for the SOR to hand out invitations to a handpicked few of the freshly graduated trainees every year. Her branch was particularly kept confidential, so recruits were discreetly chosen and only those who were given the invitation would have the chance to join.

The invitation stated nothing more than to go back to the spot where the graduation ceremony was held. Eren and the entirety of the 104th batch were given the instruction not to ignore an invitation if they were ever given one—for this would pave open new paths for them to take. He wasn't sure what that meant, but surely this must be it. He wondered who else aside from him, Armin, and Mikasa received the invitation. But surely, he would find out eventually.

When they went, they saw the entirety of the top contenders of their batch present in the room. A few other faces he had seen were present as well—but never really talked to or ever got the chance to get close to.

Everyone was in a state of confusion, but was either excited or daunted by the animosity the invitation held.

"What do you think this is all about?!" Sasha exclaimed while nibbling on a boiled potato.

Jean made problematic sigh. "Who the fuck in the world knows?" He said.

"We all came here because of the invitation." Armin stated. "You guys received them as well, right?"

"You sure bet we did." Connie held up a similar brown envelope.

A few moments later, the atmosphere within the room changed as hooded figures clad in the typical getup as ordinary soldiers arrived. Everyone fell quiet as the figures took different and individual positions, all the while carrying an intimidating aura about them. One in particular, had taken the very center of their formation.

"Cadets!" A voice rang, obviously coming from a female. "Line up properly! This is not a party you are invited to, thus, you must show proper discipline that you have learned from your training days! Do you wish for me to inform your instructor of your behavior?"

At the mention of Keith Shadis, everyone scampered to line up uniformly like they were trained to do in circumstances such as this.

To Eren though, this sounded strictly familiar.

When everyone got into position, the female continued to speak. "You are here because you are being given the chance of having an additional option." She said. "As you know, there are three military branches. But if you count ours, that makes it four."

"Huh?" Jean had let the words unexpectedly escape his mouth while everyone else stifled the urge to ask.

As if to make the scene even more dramatic, all of the hooded figures grabbed hold of the cloth covering their heads. With a swift swing, they threw it off, revealing faces they weren't exactly that familiar with.

"I am Rachel Ventrist." The woman told them. "Commander of the Secret Operations Regiment, or SOR for short."

Everyone else felt shocked. She possessed an unlikely youth that made it seem impossible for her to be handling a position so important.

Yet, Eren was completely familiar with her eyes. It was her from that night.

**(-(0)-)**

It was truly unfortunate. For the first time, Eren hesitated about joining the Recon Corps, not because he suddenly felt afraid of the titans—he was still dead set in killing them—but because he felt like a part of him wanted to join the SOR—the branch currently under the rule of an enigmatic, young commander.

He wanted to get to know more about her for some reason. This might've been just a small blossoming crush but he already had a few crushes before, yet his feelings were not as strong as they were now. He felt the need to admire the grace she possessed like a tiger in the wild . . . and that emotion swelled inside his chest right now.

After the introduction about the SOR, he had come up to Commander Rachel and gave her his best salute. "Can I speak to you, si—ma'am?" He felt embarrassed for his slipup but she seemed to had paid no mind to it at all.

Before one of her men could speak up, she did, "What can I do for you, cadet?"

"I was wondering if I can learn more about the SOR since I feel mildly curious"

Mikasa and Armin both looked taken aback by his sudden words. "Eren . . . ?"

"You know that we only disclose that kind of information to recruits who are already _certain _about their decision." She answered, smiling at him lightly. "And haven't I already told enough in the introduction?"

"I was sort of hoping a little tour won't hurt." He said.

Rachel tilted her head to the side questioningly. "Really?"

He blushed under her gaze. "Y-yes, ma'am."

"Interesting. I'll consider it." She said, turning her back to him.

A gush of wind blew in opposite towards the direction she was walking to, bringing a waft of her scent towards Eren. He inhaled sharply at the alluring smell and found himself watching her form retreating.


End file.
